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The first known US case of a variant coronavirus from Brazil was confirmed on Monday, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). COVID-19 Brazil P.1 has been detected in a person from the Twin Cities area who recently traveled to Brazil, reports CBS Minnesota.
The person was ill during the first week of January and was tested for coronavirus January 9.
The case was discovered by MDH thanks to a random audit that the agency carries out every week. Fifty samples were collected from testing partners, including the University of Minnesota Clinical Labs and the Infinity Biologix Lab in Oakdale.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm stressed the importance of the testing program as well as the reasons why it is important to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“The fewer people who contract COVID-19, the less likely the virus is to evolve,” Malcolm said in a statement. “The good news is that we can slow the spread of this and all variants of COVID-19 using the proven prevention methods of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, staying home in case of disease and to be tested if necessary. “
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Brazilian variant “was first identified in four travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at Haneda Airport in outside of Tokyo, Japan “.
An additional variant, known as variant B 1.1.7 or the UK variant, has also been detected in several countries, including the United States and Canada. A South African variant known as 1.351 has yet to be detected in the United States
The United States marked a dark stage earlier this week when COVID-19 cases topped 25 million, according to data reported by Johns Hopkins University. Globally, 99 million cases have been reported.
Nearly 421,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, while more than 2.1 million people have died worldwide from COVID-19.
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